Actually, it gets better (or worse, depending on your perspective). According to photographs posted at the where the story originally surfaced, the "chip" came with a "heat sink" that was simply a blob of molded plastic. The CPU fan, visible through a cutout in the box's packaging, was In other words, it was a picture of a fan, not an actual fan. The "chip" itself appears to be a piece of tin with perforations where you'd normally find circuits.

According to reports, from its now-former supplier, IPEX. Apparently the guy they hired to do random out-of-box inspections was in the bathroom when this shipment arrived. Or maybe he was on a three-day bender in Tijuana. Or maybe they simply don't have anyone inspecting their products as they come in the door.

Newegg's initial, somewhat amazing explanation: These were "demo versions" of the Intel chip, mistakenly mailed out to customers instead of the actual ones. Per :

Please take a moment to examine the product you received thoroughly to determine if you in fact received the wrong product. The Demo Version of these CPUs were purchased between March 1, 2010 through March 4, 2010 and will have FPO/BATCH# 3938B006 printed on the product's packaging. Additionally, the Part Number on the heat sink will read CNFN936612 and there will be no wiring on the heat sink itself.

Also: The bill of goods will have been filled out using crayons and contain pictures of unicorns. And the popcorn used inside the box will be actual popcorn (but please, don't eat it).